Dangerous Play Policy

It’s important to remind ourselves that for a majority of this league, Ultimate is a recreational sport. Yes, we tend to embrace it with an uncommon enthusiasm, but in pursuing a healthy lifestyle we have very little interest in putting our health at risk for the sake of catching or defending a piece of plastic. While the official rules of the game tend to serve the more competitive levels of this sport on occasion, it’s up to leagues to draw up policies that reflect the realities of a recreational league. The Dangerous Play call is a great example of preserving the integrity of the game while protecting participants. Thanks to the PUL Membership Committee for tackling this and to both Mile Zero Ultimate in St. John’s and Halifax Ultimate for their inspiration. Below is a summary of the policy and attached is the full PUL Supreme Court Ruling.

Summary

A player may call a Dangerous Play foul when reckless disregard for the safety of fellow players or other dangerously aggressive behaviour occurs or is imminent. Contact need not occur. This rule is not superseded by any other rule and should be used in situations where the play presented serious risk of injury. Like all rules, the Dangerous Play foul should not be used to gain unfair advantage and we expect this modified rule to be used with Spirit of the Game in mind.

To make a Dangerous Play call, the affected player must loudly say “Foul,” “Violation,” or “Dangerous Play.” Play then stops immediately. The affected player must briefly explain the grounds for the call. The opposing player may contest this call. The outcome follows the standard procedure of any foul call and so depends on possession, time of occurrence, etc.

If an affected player or a captain feels that on-field (or sideline) resolution was not possible or was unsatisfactory and that the issue requires further attention from the league, he or she should file an incident report, which will be dealt with according to PUL’s Safe Conduct Policy.